


Excerpt from a new life

by Miphan



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 20:16:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16144706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miphan/pseuds/Miphan
Summary: Sometimes she wishes that she had never accepted that responsibility





	Excerpt from a new life

The ocean today is unbelievably calm. 

The waves come and go in a soft serenade, brushing, caressing the shore with their fingertips before retreating. Slowly. Peacefully. 

Two children are playing on the shore. Two boys, too young to be burdened by the responsibilities school life brings. A young man is watching over them, yawning as the sun makes his appearance on the horizon. The water is bathed in the morning glow, sparkling like a thousand diamonds uncovered for all to see.

Weeks ago the sight would have calmed her nerves. But now the transformation pen is a horrible weight in her bag. It's nestled between her History and English textbooks and its presence is biting in her mind. It is waiting to be used, pulsing with power that hasn't been used in centuries. 

With one last look at the sea, the calm one who hides a storm underneath, she turns and takes the last few steps towards her school. The wind tangles his hands in her hair which is held together by a black ribbon. 

Her arrival at school is the same as every year, events looping again and again each first day of school. Students greet her with warm but distant smiles. Eager to interact, but not touch. She smiles back just as sweetly and searches the corridors for the familiar faces of the music club. They at least feel like family. 

She wasn't searching, longing, for one before. 

The world seems different now. This first day of school differs from any other in her life. Where the other students see reunions with friends, she sees the lack of belonging. Where they see the challenging lessons ahead, she sees the battles she has yet to face. Alone. All by herself. 

Nothing feels right. 

She gives a brief welcoming speech to her class, her duty as the class president. She talks about the year past and the year that will soon unfold before them, even if dread travels down her spine with every positive word. Her mask doesn't slip away, not even for a second. Her classmates clap in agreement with her sayings and she bows in return before taking her seat. 

The lessons pass by her in a blur. It isn't a worrisome situation. She had never had any trouble in previous years and she has private lessons waiting for her at home three times a week. 

Her attention is captured by the sea. She can see it perfectly from her seat next to the window. It's as calm as before, but the premonition of a storm is still brewing inside her. 

The bell rings and her English teacher assigns them the homework before allowing them to leave. She ensures that everyone is on their way, before heading to the music club. It's their first day back so most of the time is spent sharing their vacation destinations, cleaning the clubroom and counting their supplies. They play a piece at the end, the one who won them the first place in the local contest the previous year. 

The music is nostalgic in a way that makes her long for those days. Sometimes she wishes that she had never accepted that responsibility. It's so wrong a thought that she almost misses a note. If anyone notices, they don't comment. She's grateful for that. 

They part ways with promises of another victory to come. She is confident that they can win this year's competition as well, but she knows that there will be greater battles for her to conquer. She has already won some of them against creatures that seem to come out of nightmares. The final battle, the true battle, will be far worse. Most likely too much for her to face on her own. Death is a possibility, she knows. But there is no turning back now.

The sun is heading for the west when she steps out of the school building. Club meetings on the first day of school always last longer than usual. There is so much to be discussed and planned for the new year. Most of the sport clubs are still here, measuring their skills and cooperation after a few months apart.

She spots the red-haired girl before she does. Elsa, the only person she has kept in touch with since middle school, waves at her with a big smile on her face. Her gym uniform and hair are sweaty from practice, but she looks happy even as she removes irritating strands away from her eyes.

“Michiru! Long time no see.” She greets with a smile. “How was your summer?”

“Same as every other one.” It's a lie. She finds herself telling many of those these days. Being honest is out of the question. She now holds secrets that mustn't be revealed. 

“I see. Are you going home? Practice will be over in a few. Let's walk home together.”

Whatever response she was going to give is drowned by the noise of a motorcycle’s engine coming to life. She turns around and there, outside of the school gate, she sees her from this close for the first time. She watches, captivated, as she hides her face behind a helmet and takes off, vanishing with the wind. She doesn't realize that she is staring. 

“That's Tenou Haruka. A new student and fellow member of my club. I can introduce you tomorrow if you want. Maybe after your drawing club meeting?”

That would be terribly... wonderful. “I’ll think about it. See you later, Elsa.” She leaves, half-listening to Elsa’s cheerful goodbye. She doesn't even apologise for canceling their walk home. How rude of her to act in such a manner. 

But she can't help it. Not right now. Not when the person she has always been watching is in the same school as her. Not when she is walking on the road that person passed through a few moments ago. Not when she sees the sea that person saw. 

Not when she has to decide her next move. Move forward. Stay still. Turn back. Which is the right one? Her heart wants to move forward. She wants to be with that person forever. Her body wants to stay still. It is scared of rejection, of being more lonely than before. Her mind wants to turn back. Perhaps to a time, impossible to grasp, where hazy memories make castles on the moon. 

She looks to the sea for comfort and answers. She does it so often, it has become a habit. But the sea is the same as before. Calm and serene. No answers can be found in her depths no matter how hard she looks. Still, she can't get her eyes away. 

She knows that it will be the same tomorrow as well. She won't be able to keep her distance from that person. She will ask Elsa for an introduction with her sketching book in hand. It will bring a nice reason to talk, won't it? She hopes it does. 

She sighs, casting one last look at the horizon, before continuing on her way. 

Who knew that first days at school could be so complicated?


End file.
